2013-01-07 - The Eggman Cometh: Desperation
It's the middle of the day, and the student rec room is all but empty save for one person. Alex is here sitting in one of the chairs with his laptop on the table in front of him. It's currently displaying a map of New York and several places are highlighted, including a small cabin in Westchester, the place where Slade told him his 'temporary' house is. Alex himself looks a little rough. He looks like he hasn't slept much in a couple nights and there is a steaming mug of coffee near his right hand that he sips from periodically. He had sent word to Laura and Lorelei that he wanted to talk to them, and arranged for them to be excused from the rest of their classes for the day. He didn't notify them as to why he wanted to talk, but he did ask them both to meet him here. Laura is wondering why she's been called in - along with Lorelei. At the moment, she's rather confused given that while Alex has somewhat of a more relaxed reputation than Scott, he's hardly the type to call them from classes. As well as Lorelei going along with her, rather than the rest of Generation X makes Laura assume it is something related to her studies, rather than anything else. Lorelei is going to be so behind in her classes... Between Jean-Phillipe pulling her out for private lessons and shopping, and now this, the winged girl feels like she hasn't been in class more than half a dozen times in the last month. Add to that the fact that she's worried about her roommate, since Kenzie hasn't been back to their room in a week, and it'll be a wonder if she ever catches up on her lessons! She yawns as she follows Laura, scowling slightly and looking more than a little sulky as she clears her throat to let Alex know that they're there. Alex Summers looks up at both girls when they come in the room. He motions for them to pull up chairs and join him at the table. "Thanks for coming ladies. I'm sorry to pull you out of your classes, but we have a situation here." He looks thoughtful for a moment as he regards them both. "I've never really asked anything from either of you before, but this time I need a favor. Let me start at the beginning.." Alex turns the laptop so that they can both see, then he plays the footage provided to him by Iron Man of Kensington assaulting Stark Enterprises' warehouse. One thing that is very noticeable is some sort of device attached to Kenzie's back that seems to go down her spine. "This footage is from a few days ago. Kensington has gone rogue...but the Professor and I believe that she's not acting of her own accord. We think she's been kidnapped and is being used. I've been given permission to investigate on my own, since she's one of us. But I need help. So, I'm forming a group who's specific task is to track her down and bring her home. Now, this information isn't widely known, and I'd like to keep it that way. But Laura, you're a member of Gen X, and Lorelei you're Kenzie's roommate, so I figured you deserved to know what's going on." He pauses for a moment to let the information sink in. Laura takes a breath over and rubs at her head, "Understood." She has a frown on her face, "Lorelei, if you do not feel ready for going over into the field.." She's seen Lorelei working with Gen-X at one mission, and even then the girl's role was not necessarily violent, and Laura does not know if Lorelei wishes to pursue that route. "I will investigate as I can." She takes a breath, "Fantomex did not mention this, he strongly implied that she had gone to spend some time with her boyfriend, and did not supply a name." A low growl is rising from her; at not being told there was an emergency. Dragging a chair up as she's been told, Lore sits lightly, her attention all on Alex, for the moment. When he mentions needing a favor, she blinks a little in surprise, starting to demand what favor, but falling silent when he begins to explain and shows them some very disturbing footage of Kenzie doing some very bad things. She scowls at the screen and listens, nodding at the mention of there being a group to look for the missing girl. She frowns at Laura and shakes her head, "No, she's my roommate. I want t' help find her." There's no question, at least in her mind, that she's going to help! She shakes her head, "Whatcha need me t' do?" Alex Summers lays a hand on Laura's. "Fantomex was doing what he thought was right. But I'm Gen X's mentor, not him. And I believe in keeping my people informed. Especially when it concerns one of us." Alex has made it a point never to treat the Gen X'ers like children. He treats them as equals because he believes they will someday replace the current X-Men as field operatives. "Lorelei, with your wings, you can cover large distances quickly. I'd like you to search the city from the skies, see if there is some sign of where she might be. Or, get lucky enough to see Kenzie out and about. Laura, your tracking skills speak for themselves. I'll give you the coordinates of the last place she was, and you see if you can't pick up her trail. The Professor is trying to find her telepathically, but we have to assume that whomever has her is shielding her from that. So we do this the old fashioned way. There is a catch. SHIELD and the FBI are also looking for her. But we have to find her first because they will not attempt to help her, they will try to kill her first because she's a threat. The good thing is, we've trained with Kenzie, so we know what she's capable of. However, Iron Man believes the device on her back is somehow augmenting her powers. So she'll be tougher to take down than usual." He pauses. "This isn't an official sanctioned mission...but I believe that you guys care about Kenzie just like I do and want her home safe. This is why I've come to you first." Laura nods over at Alex and takes a breath, "Acceptable." S he goes on, "Do we have any available data on who might have taken her, or where she was last seen?" Laura knows that all students have a tracking device in their personal cell phones, she assumes that Kensington's has not been located or has been discarded. "And any further sort of things that might help backtrack where she was previously seen?" Missing for several days means that any scent trail will have faded, in particular in an urban area, and so tracking her will be a matter of luck as much as anything else if she does it on foot. "We are likely to not have luck with an above ground search, Mister Summers. If she has been taken and coerced, it is most likely that she will be kept at an underground facility or a mobile one. If SHIELD is involved.." That, to her, is a signal that this goes beyond mere child's play, and that whomever has taken Kensington is going to be highly dangerous. Lorelei nods, looking determined and sitting up straighter. For once, her wings would actually be of use, instead of a reason for her to hide, "Of course!" She would have been insulted if she hadn't been included! So what if she isn't a member of Gen X? She's still Kenzie's roommate and considers the girl a friend. She frowns at Laura, again, "Just because she might be underground or kept somewhere hidden doesn't mean that I won't spot her when she comes into the open." Hrumph! Laura has no right to insinuate other wise. A light breeze ruffles the scrawny girl's feathers, but she appears not to notice it, being too caught up in withdrawals and being grumpy. Alex Summers nods to Laura and hits a button on his laptop, bringing up the dossier of Slade Wilson. "This is Slade Wilson, he is a dangerous mercenary from the other universe. He's the head trainer for a group called the Thunderbolts, a group of psychopaths that currently work for the government. As far as I have been able to ascertain, he's not responsible for taking Kenzie. But she was involved with him romantically before she went missing. I already know that he doesn't have her. But the last time I saw her, she was leaving with him on the back of his motorcycle. I tracked the GPS on her phone to a few miles from where his temporary house is located, but the trail goes cold there. Her phone went dead from a small EMP, which I think was triggered by her. I suspect that she was taken suddenly and didn't have a chance to fight off her assailants. There is one more thing. On the assault of Stark Enterprises, Kenzie stole some sort of machine that could potentially be used as a weapon, according to Iron Man. If someone is using her to do their dirty work, I have no doubt that they'll send her out to strike again. If we can find out any other possible targets, we may be able to estimate where she'll be next and attempt to bring her back then." Laura nods over at Alex and closes her eyes, "And we will be competing wtih SHIELD, and possibly Iron Man as well." Assuming Iron Man will be pursuing her, she's only peripherally familiar with the Man of Steel. She taps at her chin, and considers, "Do we have an idea of who would have the capability of turning her into a weapon?" Laura takes a breath, "Advanced Idea Mechanics or Hydra? Someone from the other universe?" She considers this logically, ignoring the miffed signs from Lorelei. "It is likely not the actions of any anti mutant-groups or the Brotherhood." Lorelei falls silent for a moment and listens to the other two talk, making mental notes of things to look for, "So, this Slade didn't take her, but are ya sure he ain't involved, somehow? M'be he tricked her 'r somethin'..." Alex Summers looks over at Lorelei, "I thought the same thing at first. But I've been to see the man twice now in his headquarters. I don't believe he had anything to do with it. Kenzie was upset over...some personal issues and he found her when she was vulnerable. I have issues with that man, but I believed him when he said that he wasn't responsible for taking her. But I'm not familiar enough with the organizations from the other universe to know whether or not one of them took her. We're still adjusting to those guys being around, after all. But I do know that I want to keep the Kryptonians out of this....they're the last thing we need right now." He turns to Laura. "Right now, Iron Man and I are exchanging information as soon as we discover anything, so the Avengers are working with us on this. Iron Man did state that if he found her first, he'd be forced to turn her in to the authorities...and I can't fault him for that. But that just makes it all the more important that we find her first." He pauses. "Do either of you know anyone from the other world that can keep this quiet, and trustworthy enough to look into it for us?" There is a flash of consideration from Laura then. Those from the other world she has met include Kryptonians, whom she has not seen displays of great subtlety or investigation. She takes a breath of contemplation, "Who was that.. Entity that Candi was talking with?" Or if she had even established talking over with the.. Whatever it was, that she had heard whispers throughout the school. she shakes her head, "I have not met many from the other world nor interacted wtih them outside of our communal time spent in the Labyrinth. Those I have met since.. I do not believe necessarily would be good at an investigation or subtle." Lorelei shakes her head, "I ain't met none of 'em." And she didn't enter the Labyrinth with everyone else. She listens quietly to the other two discuss what's already being done, and plans of what to do. She feels sort of useless, at the moment, and really not able to contribute much to either the conversation or, really, even the investigation. That doesn't mean that she's not going to try, though! "We'll find her first, Mr. Summers." Even if she has to fly over the entire city and find her, herself. "Just... Well, I ain't real great at fightin'. What'm I s'posed t' do if I find her?" Alex Summers nods at Lorelei. "I wouldn't ask you to attempt to take her yourself, Lore. I'll provide you with a communicator so that if you do find her, you contact us and keep tabs on her until we get to you. That goes for both of you, actually. I'd rather attempt to take her as a group so it can be done as gently as possible. I don't want her hurt, but I don't want you guys getting hurt, either." He pauses and runs a hand through his hair with a sigh. "If at all possible, I want to be the one to do it. I owe her that much." They would get the sense that there is a lot that Alex isn't sharing. Personal stuff. But he is telling them everything that is relevant to finding Kensington. He frowns. "I wasn't aware that Candi was in contact with someone. Talk to her and see if she can help shed some light on this?" Laura takes a breath, "Mister Summers, there is a difference here. If you wish for us to look along the ground to find her, we can do that. However, if she has been coerced in a way and is being used as a weapon to the degree that SHIELD is looking for her, as well as Mister Stark, our chances of effectively locating her subtly and acting upon it are minimal. This does not seem to be the work of a group like the Brotherhood or the Friends of Humanity. They would have made a public declaration if so. This makes it likelier that it is the work of an advanced terrorist organization, from our world or the other. As such, it is likely that Kensington will be kept hidden underground ro in a mobile unit, and depending on the degree of cooperation they have gotten from her either kept completely sedated or will be sufficiently conditioned to actively assist in defending those who have her captive. Thus, wandering around the streets or in flight to search of her is.. Inefficient." Alex Summers slams his fist on the table. "I don't give a damn if it's inefficient. Anything is better than sitting here not knowing. I asked you as a favor to help me. Of course, you don't have to, and I won't hold it against you. But /I/ will scour the streets and look under every rock until I find that girl and bring her home. This is the situation, and I've provided all of the information that I have. I know it's not enough, and I know it's not ideal. But that can't stop us from trying, Laura." Lorelei scowls at Laura again, a stronger gust, more than a breeze, but not threatening, ruffles through her hair and feathers. She is NOT inefficient! She'll be doing everything within her ability to find her friend, and that's all that matters, and all that SHOULD matter. The winged teenager stands, huffing in irritation and walks away a few paces before turning back two the other two, "Ya know, Laura? Just 'cause it ain't somethin' you would do, don't make it any less worth doin'!" There is a *growl* from Laura, "I was going to say there were far more effective ways of searching for her than wandering around and either making ourselves ambush targets or tipping off said organization that we are searching for them." She responds over, glowering at Alex, "And if you would permit me I would suggest them." Alex Summers holds up a hand and rubs his face. "I'm sorry, Laura. I didn't mean to snap like that. I haven't been sleeping well, and...well there's just no excuse. I'm sorry. Please, say what you were going to say." Laura shakes her head, "There is no reason to apologize. Just we are likely to have more success if we take a more proactive search pattern>" S he takes a breath, "This has likely been staged by a terrorist organization, rather than a group that is normally antagonistic to mutants. The fact the strike was against Stark Enterprises is a sign of this, rather than against a populated area. So, likeliest the divergent terrorist organizations will have a better idea of what the operations of the others that are antagonistic to them are. So, we will locate a facility of one of them and raid it. Even if it is not the one that performed such a thing, they are likely to have information to help narrow our search and target others. As well as any information we gather can then be shared with SHIELD via Logan to get them to trade what information they might have. And Advanced Idea Mechanics computer security has been defined as having more back doors than a Washington brothel, so it should be simple for Doctor McCoy to rig a virus to allow us a download." Alex Summers hmms and rubs his chin. "Laura, that's not a bad idea, actually. We can hit an AIM installation and see if their computers have anything or anyone in them that might suggest who is behind this. Let me think about it, and run it past the Professor? If I can convince him it's a good idea, I'll want you on the insertion team." Laura nods over at Alex, "Thank you. It can be a hit and fade operation. We insert a team, download the data, and then extract ourselves and alert SHIELD to the facility for cleanup after we get our team out. They will know we have the data inside, and it will give us a good point of negotiation with them for more information on Kensington." Alex Summers closes his laptop. "Thanks, Laura. I'll go talk to him about it now. And thank you both for meeting with me. Be sure to keep this information to yourselves for the moment. Time is sensitive. But in the meantime, I do want Lorelei to do an aerial search. We might get lucky, we might not. But I still want to try. Lore, talk to Hank about a com unit and tell him that I authorized it." He stands up. "I'll get back to you guys later."